Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to be an economics professor. I did my graduate and undergraduate work at two universities that are in the top ten in my field. When I began teaching at a local private university, I discovered, in talking with the students, that they hadn;t covered the same material in their intro econ courses that is generally covered in the same courses at the top ten schools. The local private university had left out more rigorous topics. The professors at the local private also tended to ask their students to do in class debate or presentations, rather than writing lengthy papers. So some colleges do pitch their courses to the median student.

They don;t have to, though. If this same thing is actually occurring at Wilson, parents should be able to provide numerous examples of topics left off the syllabus or assignments made less rigorous. Please do so. If it is happening, supporting evidence should be easy to find.

Without supporting evidence, the hostility to Honors for All just sounds like ranting.

This metastudy seems to suggest that, on average, previous posters noting that detracking doesn;t hurt top students, but helps student at the bottom.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21349011/

While this one suggests that within- class ability grouping benefits high achieving students, while between- class grouping does not.

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1121483

Sorry at some point the studies don't matter and you have to use common sense

If you have kids who are multiple levels behind grade level with kids who are multiple levels above grade level there is no way a teacher can differentiate across that wide gap especially in high school. A teacher will most likely teach on grade level. So what happens is the kids on the bottom will struggle and some might drop out since there is no lower level and the material is way beyond their ability. Meanwhile the kids at the top will be extremely bored with the material and have essentially wasted a year of school. Additionally on both sides there will most likely be discipline issues because the class is not relevant to the top bottom or the top.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to be an economics professor. I did my graduate and undergraduate work at two universities that are in the top ten in my field. When I began teaching at a local private university, I discovered, in talking with the students, that they hadn;t covered the same material in their intro econ courses that is generally covered in the same courses at the top ten schools. The local private university had left out more rigorous topics. The professors at the local private also tended to ask their students to do in class debate or presentations, rather than writing lengthy papers. So some colleges do pitch their courses to the median student.

They don;t have to, though. If this same thing is actually occurring at Wilson, parents should be able to provide numerous examples of topics left off the syllabus or assignments made less rigorous. Please do so. If it is happening, supporting evidence should be easy to find.

Without supporting evidence, the hostility to Honors for All just sounds like ranting.

This metastudy seems to suggest that, on average, previous posters noting that detracking doesn;t hurt top students, but helps student at the bottom.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21349011/

While this one suggests that within- class ability grouping benefits high achieving students, while between- class grouping does not.

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1121483

Sorry at some point the studies don't matter and you have to use common sense

If you have kids who are multiple levels behind grade level with kids who are multiple levels above grade level there is no way a teacher can differentiate across that wide gap especially in high school. A teacher will most likely teach on grade level. So what happens is the kids on the bottom will struggle and some might drop out since there is no lower level and the material is way beyond their ability. Meanwhile the kids at the top will be extremely bored with the material and have essentially wasted a year of school. Additionally on both sides there will most likely be discipline issues because the class is not relevant to the top bottom or the top.

Where is your evidence that there are a significant number of students at Wilson this year that are multiple grade levels ahead, and multiple grade levels behind?

How are you privy to the achievement data of nearly 500 kids? Do you at least have it broken down by percentages and by what measure? Their 8th grade PARCC?
i-ready?

As for bored kids, all kids will be bored in school sometimes and that, in itself, doesn't mean the teachers are watering down things. The teachers are required to teach the DCPS content for that grade. Your bored kids should approach their teacher for outside reading or projects to complete on their own time and take responsibility for their own education.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to be an economics professor. I did my graduate and undergraduate work at two universities that are in the top ten in my field. When I began teaching at a local private university, I discovered, in talking with the students, that they hadn;t covered the same material in their intro econ courses that is generally covered in the same courses at the top ten schools. The local private university had left out more rigorous topics. The professors at the local private also tended to ask their students to do in class debate or presentations, rather than writing lengthy papers. So some colleges do pitch their courses to the median student.

They don;t have to, though. If this same thing is actually occurring at Wilson, parents should be able to provide numerous examples of topics left off the syllabus or assignments made less rigorous. Please do so. If it is happening, supporting evidence should be easy to find.

Without supporting evidence, the hostility to Honors for All just sounds like ranting.

This metastudy seems to suggest that, on average, previous posters noting that detracking doesn;t hurt top students, but helps student at the bottom.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21349011/

While this one suggests that within- class ability grouping benefits high achieving students, while between- class grouping does not.

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1121483

Sorry at some point the studies don't matter and you have to use common sense

If you have kids who are multiple levels behind grade level with kids who are multiple levels above grade level there is no way a teacher can differentiate across that wide gap especially in high school. A teacher will most likely teach on grade level. So what happens is the kids on the bottom will struggle and some might drop out since there is no lower level and the material is way beyond their ability. Meanwhile the kids at the top will be extremely bored with the material and have essentially wasted a year of school. Additionally on both sides there will most likely be discipline issues because the class is not relevant to the top bottom or the top.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best part of this is that Rachel Laser sends her own son to GDS for high school while living in the Wilson High School zone.
You can't make this up.

so yes, while she is creating HFA for your kid and mine she is paying $40K a year to get her own child far, far away from the underachievers.

I believe she has another child who graduated from Wilson.

I believe you are her or her friend.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best part of this is that Rachel Laser sends her own son to GDS for high school while living in the Wilson High School zone.
You can't make this up.

so yes, while she is creating HFA for your kid and mine she is paying $40K a year to get her own child far, far away from the underachievers.

I believe she has another child who graduated from Wilson.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best part of this is that Rachel Laser sends her own son to GDS for high school while living in the Wilson High School zone.
You can't make this up.

so yes, while she is creating HFA for your kid and mine she is paying $40K a year to get her own child far, far away from the underachievers.

Anonymous wrote:The best part of this is that Rachel Laser sends her own son to GDS for high school while living in the Wilson High School zone.
You can't make this up.

Anonymous wrote:I used to be an economics professor. I did my graduate and undergraduate work at two universities that are in the top ten in my field. When I began teaching at a local private university, I discovered, in talking with the students, that they hadn;t covered the same material in their intro econ courses that is generally covered in the same courses at the top ten schools. The local private university had left out more rigorous topics. The professors at the local private also tended to ask their students to do in class debate or presentations, rather than writing lengthy papers. So some colleges do pitch their courses to the median student.

They don;t have to, though. If this same thing is actually occurring at Wilson, parents should be able to provide numerous examples of topics left off the syllabus or assignments made less rigorous. Please do so. If it is happening, supporting evidence should be easy to find.

Without supporting evidence, the hostility to Honors for All just sounds like ranting.

This metastudy seems to suggest that, on average, previous posters noting that detracking doesn;t hurt top students, but helps student at the bottom.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21349011/

While this one suggests that within- class ability grouping benefits high achieving students, while between- class grouping does not.

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1121483

Anonymous wrote:I used to be an economics professor. I did my graduate and undergraduate work at two universities that are in the top ten in my field. When I began teaching at a local private university, I discovered, in talking with the students, that they hadn;t covered the same material in their intro econ courses that is generally covered in the same courses at the top ten schools. The local private university had left out more rigorous topics. The professors at the local private also tended to ask their students to do in class debate or presentations, rather than writing lengthy papers. So some colleges do pitch their courses to the median student.

They don;t have to, though. If this same thing is actually occurring at Wilson, parents should be able to provide numerous examples of topics left off the syllabus or assignments made less rigorous. Please do so. If it is happening, supporting evidence should be easy to find.

Without supporting evidence, the hostility to Honors for All just sounds like ranting.

This metastudy seems to suggest that, on average, previous posters noting that detracking doesn;t hurt top students, but helps student at the bottom.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21349011/

While this one suggests that within- class ability grouping benefits high achieving students, while between- class grouping does not.

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1121483

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You can find more information about Rachel Laser and HFA on her public professional website: https://www.rachellaser.com

On this website you can read her article "Why I Am Atoning For Racism" where she declares "Today, I, a white American, atone for my racism." Cliff notes: she is not atoning for any personal act of racism or even any racist thoughts but rather for "white privilege".

On her website, you can also see how Rachel uses her role in creating the diversity committee and implementing HFA at Wilson High School to market her professional consulting services on “racism and white privilege”. Yes, that's right - she is using our Wilson High School to sell her professional services. It’s even on her resume. See her webpage titled “White Privilege & Rascism”: https://www.rachellaser.com/white-privilege-race where she states “Rachel Laser is founder and facilitator of the Wilson Diversity Task Force and works as a consultant on bridging racial and cultural divides.”

On Rachel’s website, Principal Martin actually provides a "testimonial" that identifies her as "Principal Kim Martin, Woodrow Wilson High School, Washington, DC". See https://www.rachellaser.com/testimonials. Here is Principal Martin’s full testimonial:

Throughout this school year, I am most proud of the formation of the Diversity Task Force (DTF), which Rachel facilitated and helped create. When we started the DTF, all we knew was that we wanted to figure out concrete and measurable goals to bridge the achievement and well-being gap at Wilson. Each month, Rachel and I met to figure out an agenda that would ensure a productive and forward-moving meeting and she brought fresh ideas and models from other schools for me to consider. In our early meetings, we discussed bias, the definition of racism and white fragility in way that laid a fertile and receptive foundation for our work to come. At many meetings, I used current Wilson data to highlight some inequality, and students who were affected by these inequalities spoke about their pain. Within six months, this committee was so focused on a goal that we could not prevent them from trying to “do something.” I am hopeful that what we are doing will move Wilson towards our goal. I am certain that the process we are using has tremendous merit and I have asked Rachel to stay with us for another year. With Rachel’s help, I have also been reflecting on how my own background, experiences and perspectives have impacted the school change process. If you too are committed to concrete and measurable change in your workplace, I highly recommend Rachel to work with your school, company or organization.
Principal Kim Martin
Woodrow Wilson High School, Washington, DC

This testimonial is improper on multiple levels. First, a school principal should not publicly endorse anyone or any service, especially someone who is trying to profit from controversial changes to critical course offerings. Second, let’s unpack what Principal Martin referred to as “the definition of racism” because it is not what you think it is. Rachel has redefined the term “racism”. Here is how Rachel defines it on her website:

“Racism is a deeply-rooted system in our country that disadvantages and devalues people of color as a group and advantages and empowers white people as a group. Racism is also individual instances of hatred, prejudice or discrimination by a person in a dominant racial group directed at a person of a marginalized racial group.” (https://www.rachellaser.com/definitions)

Racism in her definition—and the definition embraced by Principal Martin—means that in the U.S. only white people can be racist. This is wrong and dangerous, and it shocks me that a principal of a diverse school would embrace such an inaccurate and intentionally biased definition.

Then there is the term “white fragility”. I can thank Principal Martin for introducing me to this racist term. Here is the definition on Rachel’s website:

White fragility is “a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium.” (https://www.rachellaser.com/definitions)

Again, the idea that a principal of a diverse school would use such a term is just wrong. This term is intended to suppress discussion and stigmatize those that disagree.

I think it is useful for parents and students to know more about the public views of the two people responsible for bringing HFA to Wilson High School. It helps explain the trust issues that some parents have with the information provided by Wilson.

Thanks for posting that information. As a middle aged white person who attended segregated schools in the South as a child, I can say that I agree 100% with the comments from Rachel and disagree entirely with your objections.

I see white fragility constantly in my fairly racist family members who find any suggestion that racism actually exists or negatively impacts anyone to be intolerable. The fact that, for example, the DOJ found that the system of court fines and policing in Ferguson was structured explicitly to extract money from the black community and lower taxes on whites (structural racism that's alive and well in 2019) is absolutely inconceivable to them, and trying to have any rational discussion of a topic like that is impossible -- the become instantly furious. That's white fragility. It's not something someone dreamed up to shut down discussion, it's an observed reality that a lot of people (white and black) have commented on. The fact that you deny it exists suggests to me that you haven't engaged in many honest conversations about race with racists.